DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOR PENSION ADMINISTRATION IN THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC SECTOR (A STUDY OF PENSION COMMISSION RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA)

ABSTRACT

This research work is designed to develop effective strategy for pension administration in the Nigeria public sector, using pension commission as a study. The research work reveals how some retirees are forced to continue to work throughout their life, not out of choice but for lack of means of sustenance at old age. The sources of data collection for this work are primary and secondary sources, the researcher in this process of data collection for the research regarded the questionnaire to serve as the most important instrument used in the research, and the data gathered from questionnaire are analyzed by simple percentage, the chi-square techniques was employed to test the hypothesis and interpret the information for better understanding. The findings reveal that, a non-effective and efficient strategy of pension administration can be likened to poor pension administration and budgeted income to pensioners is not implemented as at when due. The implication were that, committees should be set up to audit the performance of pension boards and other pension bodies and responsibility should be assigned to the right people who must have access to the right information concerning retires and also retirees should not solely depend on pension after retirement, alternate plans should be made from day one of the start of one’s working years, this could include setting aside a percentage of one’s salary in anticipation of retirement.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The greatest challenge to government worldwide remains the issue relating to pension fund management. A financial analyst called Alexandra Forbes argues

“Pension Management, world over, has become an increasingly great concern to most government and countries of the world”.

And coming to Nigeria, the country was guided by a number of pension regimes prior to the promulgation of the pension Act 2004, pension schemes in Nigeria had been bedeviled with many pitfalls. The public service operated an unfounded defined benefit schemes and the payment of retirement benefits were budgeted annually. The annual budgetary allocation for pension was often one of the most vulnerable items in budget implementation in even where budgetary provisions were made, inadequate and untimely release of fund resulted in delays and accumulation of arrears of payment of pension rights. It is then obvious that, the defined benefit scheme could not be sustained.

In the private sector on the other hand, many employees were not covered by the pension scheme put in place by their employers and many other schemes were not funded. Besides, where the schemes were funded, the management of the pension funds was full of malpractices between the fund management and the trustees of the pension board.

Apart from the stress associated with working at old age, how relevant can an individual be at age 70 or 80 in the face of ever changing knowledge brought about by advancement in technology? Besides, of what use is life without rest at old age? Even where one is willing and able to continue working, the opportunity for the elderly to continue working is declining. However, it is against this backgrounds that the researcher wishes to develop effective strategy for pension administration in the Nigeria public sector.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

First comes the layoffs then pay cuts finally a delay in the payments of benefits due to poor policy formulation and implementation, incorrect record keeping and inadequate accountability of public funds. The non-implementation of budgeted income to pensioners, delay in the payment and denial of pension accrued to pensioners leading to pensioners protesting over non-payment of pensions and non-compliance with ethics of public financial management